Multi-facing merchandiser and methods relating to same

ABSTRACT

A product display is provided including a tray, a first product channel located on a first side of the tray, and a second product channel located on a second side of the tray. In some embodiments the first product channel is located on top of the tray and the second product channel is located below the tray.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.62/302,664, filed Mar. 2, 2016, which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

FIELD

This invention relates generally to product displays and, moreparticularly, to merchandisers for front-facing product merchandise fordisplaying and dispensing product to consumers.

BACKGROUND

Product displays, such as merchandisers, are frequently used in retailenvironments to display products for sale. It is advantageous for theseproduct display merchandisers to be configured to provide consumers easyaccess to the displayed product as well as facilitate easy reloading bystore employees. Example product display merchandisers are described inU.S. Patent Publication No. 2010/0107670. In addition to ease of useconsiderations, manufacturers of product display merchandisers seek tominimize materials and manufacturing costs associated with the productdisplay merchandisers.

One problem with conventional merchandisers is that an additionalmerchandiser is required for each row of products. The large number ofmerchandisers are expensive and take up valuable display space.

While some conventional merchandisers allow flexibility by offeringremovable dividers, such that a single merchandiser can have two rows ofproducts, conventional merchandisers do not allow products to bedisplayed on two opposite sides of the merchandiser, such as the top andbottom.

Accordingly, it has been determined that a need exists for improvedproduct display merchandiser that are not only easy to use, for bothconsumers and store associates, but also minimally expensive to produceand that offer improved features and functions over conventionalmerchandisers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the figures of theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a store display featuring three versionsof product display merchandisers including a product displaymerchandiser according to embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view of a product display merchandiseraccording to an embodiment of the present invention taken along line A-Ain FIG. 2E.

FIG. 2B is a front elevation view of the product display merchandiser ofFIG. 2A.

FIG. 2C is a perspective view of the product display merchandiser ofFIGS. 2A-B.

FIG. 2D is a top view of the product display merchandiser of FIGS. 2A-C.

FIG. 2E is a side elevation view of the product display merchandiser ofFIGS. 2A-D.

FIG. 2F is a cross-sectional view of the product display merchandiser ofFIGS. 2A-E taken along line F-F in FIG. 2D.

Elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity andhave not necessarily been drawn to scale or to include all features,options or attachments. For example, the dimensions and/or relativepositioning of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggeratedrelative to other elements to help to improve understanding of variousembodiments of the present invention. Also, common but well-understoodelements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasibleembodiment are often not depicted in order to facilitate a lessobstructed view of these various embodiments of the present invention.Certain actions and/or steps may be described or depicted in aparticular order of occurrence while those skilled in the art willunderstand that such specificity with respect to sequence is notactually required. The terms and expressions used herein have theordinary technical meaning as is accorded to such terms and expressionsby persons skilled in the technical field as set forth above exceptwhere different specific meanings have otherwise been set forth herein.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Many variations of product displays are discussed herein and evenfurther are contemplated in view of this disclosure. The product displaymerchandisers discussed herein are configured, and designed, to hold anddisplay product that is for sale and to front face this product so thatthe next item in the display is moved to the front of the display as theproduct in front of it is removed from the merchandiser. The productdisplay merchandisers include a first channel for products located on afirst side of the product display merchandiser and a second channel forproducts located on a second side of the display. Specifically, theproduct display merchandisers include channels on the top and bottomsides. While many variations of product display merchandisers are hereindescribed and contemplated herein, FIGS. 1 and 2A-2F, and the associatedtext, generally depict and describe a first embodiment of a productdisplay merchandiser wherein a first product channel is located on thetop side of the display, and a second product channel is located on thebottom side of the display.

FIG. 1 illustrates a store display 1 featuring three versions of productdisplay merchandisers or front facing merchandisers 100, 200, and 300.Product display merchandisers 200 are single product trays that have asingle product channel similar to those discussed in U.S. PatentPublication No. 2010/0107670, published May 6, 2010, which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety. In a preferred form,these are pull-out trays that allow the tray to pull out for stockingand re-stocking purposes. The product display merchandisers 200 hold asingle row 20 of products which are faced against a front lens 210.

Product display merchandiser 300 are dual-product channel merchandisersthat are capable of front facing one or two separate product containerssimilar to those discussed in U.S. provisional patent application Ser.No. 62/195847, filed Jul. 23, 2015, from which PCT application no.PCT/U.S.16/43354, filed Jul. 21, 2016, depends both of which isincorporated herein by reference in their entirety. The product displaymerchandiser 300 includes either a single channel configuration 300B ora double channel configuration 300A. The single channel configuration300A allows for the displaying of a row of large products 31. The doublechannel configuration 300A allows for the display of multiple rows 30 ofsmaller products. In the double channel configuration 300A a removabledivider is attached to separate the product channel into two productchannels. This divider can be removed to convert to the single channelconfiguration.

Product display merchandiser 300 comprises a tray 302, holding a channelof products 30, which is slidably mounted on a base 305 (e.g., apull-out front facing tray type merchandiser). In order to assist in thestocking of the product display merchandiser 300, the tray 302 can beslid forward along the base 305 so that it can more easily be reached.The tray 302 is connected to the base 305 by connectors 308, whichprevent the tray 302 from completely detaching from the base 305, whilestill allowing it to slide along the longitudinal axis.

Both merchandisers 200 and 300 preferably include pull-out tray typeoperation and adjustable width capabilities where the sidewalls of thetray are adjustable to change the width of the product channel toaccommodate products of different size and in a manner that allows themerchandiser to only take-up as much space as needed in order to allowretailers to maximize their display space (e.g., maximize horizontalpack-out by not wasting space).

Product display merchandiser 100 is a new merchandiser that allows for asingle or multi-product channel on the upper side of the merchandiserand a separate product channel below the merchandiser (or on the sideopposite the first product channel). While we will discuss andillustrate the merchandiser 100 only having a single product channel onthe upper side of the merchandiser further herein, it should beunderstood that in alternate forms a dual product channel could beprovided on the upper side of the merchandiser like the above mentionedmerchandiser 300.

The product display merchandiser 100 is better shown in FIGS. 2A-2F. Asseen in FIG. 2A, product display merchandiser 100 includes a tray 102which defines a first channel 130 and a second channel 132. The firstchannel 130 or top channel contains a first product row 10 on the topside of the tray 102, the first channel 130 is defined by a pair ofsidewalls 112/114. As discussed above, the first channel 130 may besplit into multiple channels in alternative embodiments. In furtheralternatives, one or both sidewalls 112/114 are adjustable and/orremovable in order to accommodate product rows 10 of varying widths. Thesecond channel 132 or bottom channel contains a second product row 11 onthe bottom side of the tray 102. The second channel 132 is defined by afirst protrusion 121 and a second protrusion 122. The product displaymerchandiser 100 includes a base 105. In some embodiments, the tray 102is slidably mounted on the base 105, similar to product displaymerchandiser 300 above. In some embodiments, the tray 102 is baselessand instead slides out along one or more arms. In alternativeembodiments, the tray 102 is rigidly attached to the base 105, or thebase 105 is a portion of the tray 102.

As shown in FIG. 1, product display merchandiser 100 includes anattachment member 104 for mounting the product display merchandiser 100to a grid 106. In alternative embodiments, the attachment member 104 isconfigured to attach the product display merchandiser 100 in other ways,including mounting on a bar, mounting on a shelf, fitting into one ormore horizontal tracks, or others.

In operation, the product display 100 retains the rows of products10/11/12 in neat rows and advances them toward the front end 101 of thetray 102. Turning to the cross-sectional view in FIG. 2A, the bottomside of the tray 102 includes the first protrusion 121 and the secondprotrusion 122. The two protrusions 121/122 extend downward from thetray 102 and are configured to removably attach to the top portion ofthe packaging of product 11. In the embodiment shown, the twoprotrusions form a channel 132 into which a rim around the product 11slides. The protrusions 121/122 prevent the products 11 from falling orfrom being removed from either side. However, they permit the sliding ofthe products 11 toward and away from the front end 101 of the tray 102.The protrusions 121/122 each have a shoulder or lip facing each otherconfigured to support the rim of a product 11 there-between.

FIG. 2A further shows a third row 12 of products attached to the bottomof the second row 11 of products. The top portion of the packaging ofthe products 11/12 include a recess 13 defined by a ring 14. The bottomportion of the packaging of the products 11/12 include a projection 15configured to fit into the recess 13. The projection 15 is flaredoutward and sized such that it is held into the recess 13 by frictionwith enough force to support the weight of the third row of products 12,such that the third product 12 is detachably coupled to the secondproduct 11. In this embodiment, the amount of force necessary to removea product 11 from the product display 100 should be greater than theforce necessary to remove a product 12 from the bottom of the product11. Thus, a consumer can remove the products one at a time. Inalternative embodiments, the recess 13 is a channel. In this embodiment,the protrusions 121/122 can comprise a single protrusion 121 configuredto fit within the recess 13 of the products in row 11 in order tosupport them.

In FIG. 1, the product display 100 is angled downward. When a product isremoved from the first or second rows of products 10/11, gravity causesthe remaining products to slide toward the front end 101 of the tray102, thus self-facing the merchandise. In alternative embodiments, othermeans of self-facing can be employed. The top row 11 of products includea pusher 108 (see FIG. 2C). In some embodiments, the pusher isspringedly attached to the tray 102 such that it is biased toward thefront end 101. In other embodiments, the pusher is merely weighted suchthat it slides forward from gravity in order to self-face lighterproducts. A second pusher 108 can be included in the bottom channel 132in order to self-face the second row of products 11. Still in otherembodiments, the pushers 108 are attached to a pull tab located near thefront end. A store employee can pull on the pull tab in order to facethe products quickly. In some embodiments, a single pull tab can beattached to a plurality of pushers 108. As shown in FIG. 2D, the pushers108 travel along tracks 103 that are built into the tray 102 or the base105.

The product display 100 further comprises a price channel 110. The pricechannel 110 (shown in FIG. 2B), includes a lens 113 and at least onestopper 111. The lens 113 is configured to hold a price tag and orproduct label. In some embodiments the lens 113 is made of a transparentmaterial, such that the tag or label can be placed under the lens 113.In other embodiments, the lens 113 is a channel into which a price tagor label can slide in or be placed. The stopper 111 is a protrusionextending from the price channel 110 into the second channel 132. Thestopper 111 contacts the front product 11, so as to restrict the product11 from sliding out of the tray 102. The stopper 111 allows the product11 to be removed if sufficient force is applied by a customer. In someembodiments the stopper 111 contacts a surface of the product parallelto the longitudinal axis of the tray 102, and merely hold the product 11in position with friction. In a second embodiment, the stopper 111contacts the front of the product 11. In the second embodiment, thestopper 111 and/or the product 11 are deformable, such that they candeform to allow the removal of the product 11 and then return to theproper shape so that the next product 11 in line is stopped.

As shown in FIG. 2E, the back surface of the price channel 110 contactsthe front most product 10 so as to prevent it from sliding out of thetray 102. A consumer can remove the product 10 by lifting it above theprice channel 110. In alternative embodiments, the price channel 110includes a second stopper 111 extending into the top channel 130.

In some embodiments, the sidewalls 112/114 are adjustable. The sidewalls112/114 are attached to the base 105 such that they can slide apart inorder to adjust the width of the first channel 130. This permits asingle product display 100 to be capable of holding a wide variety ofproducts. In alternative embodiments, one or both of the sidewalls112/114 are removable. By removing the sidewalls 112/114, very wideproducts can be supported by two adjacent product displays 100.

Similarly, in some embodiments the first protrusion 121 and secondprotrusion 122 are adjustable. The protrusions 121/122 are slidablyattached to the base 105 so that the width of the second channel 132 canbe adjusted. In this manner, they can be adjusted to fit over the rim ofa variety of products.

The product display 100 can include any of the features included in theprior art product displays 200/300 or any of the features disclosed inthe references incorporated herein. This includes, but is not limitedto, a removable divider permitting the first channel 130 to be dividedinto two channels, sliding sidewalls 112/114, removable sidewalls112/114, and a slide-out tray 102. The product display 100 can furtherinclude the features disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/409,396, filed Jan. 18, 2017, which claims priority to provisionalapplications 62/440,993, filed Dec. 30, 2016, and 62/279,931, filed Jan.18, 2016, all of which are fully incorporated herein by reference intheir entireties. This includes, but is not limited to, a sensor formonitoring the quantity of products contained in the product display 100and a means of alerting a store employee when the product display 100needs restocked.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the first and secondprotrusions 121/122 that define the channel 132 are configured to beremovable from the tray 102. The removable protrusions 121/122 can beadded to existing product displays 200/300 in order to support anadditional row of products on the bottom side of the trays 202/302.Alternatively, the protrusions 121/122 and the sidewalls 112/114 form asingle removable piece. This piece can be attached to existing bases inorder to achieve the same result. As shown in FIG. 2A, the piececomprising the sidewalls 112/114 and the protrusions 121/122 include anattachment portion 123 configured to slide over the base 105.Alternatively, each sidewall 112/114 and protrusion 121/122 can beindividually attachable to the base 105 or an existing tray. This can beachieved by each sidewall 112/114 and protrusion 121/122 having at leastone sideward extending projection configured to fit in a recess orchannel in the base 105 or tray 102. This can also be achieved by eachsidewall 112/114 and protrusion 121/122 having at least one sidewardfacing recess or channel configured to fit onto a projection extendingfrom the base 105 or tray 102. In still further embodiments, a singleprotrusion 121 or a member comprising a single protrusion 121 andsidewall 112 is configured to be permanently fixed to a base 105 or tray102. This can be achieved by any means, including adhesive, welding,screws, rivets, or bolts. Both protrusions 121/122 can alternativelyform a single member configured to be permanently attached to the bottomof a base 105 or tray 102 by any of the same means described above. Anyof these embodiments can be combined with the alternative protrusions121/122 described elsewhere in this application, including where theprotrusions 121/122 are replaced with a single protrusion or recess.

This allows for existing product display merchandisers to be retrofittedwith the present invention. It further allows for the removal of theprotrusions 121/122 so that the same product display merchandisers 100can be used for the bottom row of a store display 1 or in cases where asecond row of products 11 is not desired.

In view of the above, it should be understood that numerous new conceptsand features are disclosed herein that are intended to be covered by theinstant application. For example, disclosed herein is a product displaymerchandiser having at least one sidewall formed from an extrusion. In apreferred form, the extrusion defines two side walls positioned oppositeone another. In one form, the extrusion further includes a protrusion,such as a product retention tab, that allows an additional facing ofproduct to be suspended from the product display merchandiser. In someembodiments, the protrusions extend from both side walls and arepositioned opposite one another to retain the products of the secondfacing between the protrusions. As mentioned above, one form of thisdesign has the product retention tabs configured to engage a surface ofthe product being displayed in the second facing, such as a lip orshoulder of the product, and in a manner that still allows the productof the second facing to remain movable with respect to the productdisplay merchandiser so that the product of the second facing cancontinue to slide or advance/self-face when the product displaymerchandiser is suspended at an angle to allow for gravity feeding ofthe product (e.g., so that product advances to remain at the front ofthe merchandiser as product is removed from same).

While the immediate paragraph above discusses an entire product displaymerchandiser having a product retention mechanism for suspending anadditional facing from the merchandiser, it should be understood that inalternate embodiments the concepts contained herein may further includea merchandiser accessory capable of being attached to existingmerchandisers to configure the existing merchandisers to suspendadditional facings therefrom. For example, in one form, an accessoryattachment is disclosed having a product retention tab or protrusionthat can be connected to a side of an existing merchandiser andsuspended below to suspend an additional facing of product below themerchandiser. In some forms, two or more of such accessory attachmentsmay be connected or coupled to opposing sides of an existingmerchandiser to allow for product to be retained and suspended below themerchandiser while still allowing the product to move with respect tothe merchandiser (e.g., so as to slide or advance/self-face when productis removed from the merchandiser). In some forms, the merchandiser mayadvance or auto-face the product due to an angular positioning of themerchandiser to utilize gravity feeding. In other forms, themerchandiser may include a product advancement mechanism, such as amanually movable product advancement lever or strip or, alternatively, aspring driven pusher mechanism. With respect to the former (i.e., themanual configuration), the manual pull strip or tab/lever may beintegrated into a wall of the product display merchandiser (e.g., leftside wall, right side wall or bottom side wall), may be integrated intoa base of the merchandiser, or may be extend above, below or to the sideof the products and be operable in a first direction to advance theproduct so that the next available product is positioned conveniently atthe front of the merchandiser. With respect to the latter (i.e., theautomatic advancing mechanism), the spring biased pusher may bepositioned within the merchandiser (e.g., between the side walls or atopa base or bottom wall) or extended from a side of the displayed product(e.g., suspended from below a base or bottom wall of the merchandiser toadvance and face the product suspended below the merchandiser.

In addition to the product display merchandisers discussed herein, itshould also be understood that product packaging is also disclosedherein that allows for additional facings of product to be connected toor presented from a merchandiser. For example, in one form a nestedproduct packaging is disclosed that allows one product to be suspendedfrom another so that both products can be suspended from the productretention mechanism (e.g., channel, tab, chute, etc.) of a merchandiser.In a preferred form, the products are friction fit with one another anddesigned in such a way that the force required to remove one productfrom another that it is connected to (e.g., a second or base product) issmaller than the amount of force required to remove the second or baseproduct from the merchandiser. In this way, the product display systemor assembly is configured to ensure that a suspended or connectedproduct is always removed before its base product is removed from theproduct retention mechanism. This allows for second and third facings ofproduct to be suspended from the product display merchandiser in a newand novel manner. Hence, a multi-product facing merchandiser isdisclosed herein as well as unique product packaging for use with same.

In addition to the various embodiments disclosed herein for productdisplay merchandisers and product packaging, there are also disclosednumerous methods as well. For example, a method for adding one or moreof additional product facings to a merchandiser is disclosed herein.Similarly, a method for connecting product to a merchandiser isdisclosed herein including without limitation a method of suspendingproduct form the merchandiser. A method of forming one or moremerchandiser walls is disclosed herein as is a method of modifying amerchandiser to connect additional product to same. Likewise, methodsfor advancing product in a product display merchandiser are disclosed asare methods for connected product to one another for display in aproduct display merchandiser. Additionally, a method for retrofittingexisting merchandisers to display one or more additional facings ofproduct is also disclosed herein.

This detailed description described specific examples of product displaymerchandisers. A person of ordinary skill in the art would recognizethat these descriptions are sufficient to understand how to build and/oroperate any of the product display merchandisers disclosed herein.Therefor this description covers the methods of making or using theproduct display merchandisers and/or individual components of theproduct display merchandisers described.

This detailed description refers to specific examples in the drawingsand illustrations. These examples are described in sufficient detail toenable those skilled in the art to practice the inventive subjectmatter. These examples also serve to illustrate how the inventivesubject matter can be applied to various purposes or embodiments. Otherembodiments are included within the inventive subject matter, aslogical, mechanical, electrical, and other changes can be made to theexample embodiments described herein. Features of various embodimentsdescribed herein, however essential to the example embodiments in whichthey are incorporated, do not limit the inventive subject matter as awhole, and any reference to the invention, its elements, operation, andapplication are not limiting as a whole, but serve only to define theseexample embodiments. This detailed description does not, therefore,limit embodiments of the invention, which are defined only by theappended claims. Each of the embodiments described herein arecontemplated as falling within the inventive subject matter, which isset forth in the following claims.

1. A product display comprising: an attachment means; a tray; a firstproduct channel located on a first side of the tray; and a secondproduct channel located on a second side of the tray.
 2. The productdisplay of claim 1, wherein the second side of the tray is opposite thefirst side of the tray.
 3. The product display of claim 2, wherein firstside of the tray is a top side and the second side of the tray is abottom side.
 4. The product display of claim 1, wherein the attachmentmeans is configured to removably attach the product display to one of agroup consisting of a grid, a bar, a shelf, and a wall.
 5. The productdisplay of claim 1 further comprising: a third product channel locatedon the first side; and a removable divider separating the first productchannel and the third product channel.
 6. The product display of claim1, wherein the second product channel comprises a top portion of atleast one first product container removably attached to at least oneprotrusion extending downward from the tray.
 7. The product display ofclaim 6, wherein the top portion at least one second product containeris removably attached to a bottom portion of the at least one firstproduct container.
 8. The product display of claim 1, wherein the bottomside of the tray comprises at least one protrusion configured tointeract with a top portion of a product container.
 9. The productdisplay of claim 8, wherein the at least one protrusion is two sidewallsextending downward and shaped to fit over a rim of the productcontainer.
 10. The product display of claim 1 further comprising a pricechannel including a lens and at least one stopper.
 11. The productdisplay of claim 10, wherein the at least one stopper is configured tocontact a product container in the second product channel.
 12. A methodof displaying products comprising: supporting a first row of products ona first side of a merchandiser; supporting a second row of products on asecond side of a merchandiser; advancing the first row of products andthe second row of products toward a front side of the merchandiser. 13.The method of displaying products of claim 12, wherein the first side ofthe merchandiser is opposite the second side of the merchandiser. 14.The method of displaying products of claim 13, wherein the first side ofthe merchandiser is a top side, and the second side of the merchandiseris the bottom side.
 15. The method of displaying products of claim 12further comprising: supporting a third row of products on a bottomportion of the second row of products.
 16. The method of displayingproducts of claim 15, wherein a top portion of the third row of productsis configured to detachably couple to a bottom portion of the second rowof products.
 17. The method of displaying products of claim 12 furthercomprising stopping the advancement of the second row of products with aprojection extending from a price channel.
 18. A product supportcomprising: at least one downward extending protrusion configured tosupport a product; an attachment portion configured to attach to aproduct display.
 19. The product support of claim 18, wherein the atleast one downward extending protrusion comprises two protrusionsconfigured to support a rim between the two protrusions.
 20. The productsupport of claim 18 further comprising: at least one upward extendingsidewall.